Why Invest in Extend?

Our Financial Reality

Many of you have been wondering where we stand financially, so here is a quick look. We really appreciate your prayer and investment in this mission.

1. At this point in time I am only able to lead the Extend church planting residency with financial support from the church outside of Québec. While we are working toward a more economically sustainable solution in the long run, it will be several years until that is in place.

2. We moved to Montréal in August and began working intensely on the curriculum for Extend so we could train men sooner and begin planting churches even faster. Ideally for us, I would have raised all of our funds prior to moving, but we believed that God would provide what we needed to get us started and he has. 

3. In order to meet our budget we need an additional $2900 per month. That's 5 commitments of $200/month, 10 at $100/month, and 18 at $50/month.

4. The faster we can raise the finances, the more time and energy I can pour into improving my French and developing more training material. There are so many opportunties I will be able to take advantage of every week once I'm able to speak the language better.

Will you pray and ask God how he could use you to help meet this need?

We will continue to contact friends as fast as we are able in order to find out how God is leading through this, but it will be a great encouragement to us if you contact us first.

Some other tangible ways to get involved include giving a year-end gift to help cover costs until our monthly income is at 100% and asking your friends specifically if they would consider investing in this mission with us. If it is important to you it may very well be of interest to them.

Night view outside our office on Rue Notre Dame Ouest

December News

We are excited to announce that the Extend church planting residency now has an official curriculum in place. While Michael actually began working with the guys in September, much of his time has gone into developing the curriculum that they will use for the remainder of their formal training.  He's now finished the Residency Guide which lays out all the philosophy and coursework for the church planter training. You can access it here if you'd like to take a look and learn more about what we're training guys to do.

In other news...we are going to try a new approach to sharing updates about our family and mission. We will be posting shorter updates more regularly on the website and/or the Extend the Gospel facebook page instead of the traditional newsletter. These updates will be sent out via the mailchimp application to all those who have already been receiving our newsletters. If you'd like to be added to this list please send us an email at extendthegospel@gmail.com.

As you look through the Extend guide please take a moment to give thanks with us for all those who are giving financially to make this training possible. It's amazing to be part of what God's doing here in Québec!

October 2014 Newsletter

Fall has kicked into high gear, we're over a month into the school year, and there are no signs that life will slow down anytime soon. Take a look at some of what God is doing in our family, our church, and the Extend ministry in our October newsletter.

August 2014 Newsletter

We made it to Montréal! Read more about the experience and our new surroundings in our first newsletter from Québec.

July 2014 Newsletter

OK, so here is the last newsletter before we actually move to Montréal. The time is flying and there is so much to do. Check out some of the amazing things God has done and pray with us during our transition.

Faith and Investment

An invitation to invest stategically in the Kingdom

Raising financial support for our mission in Montréal is challenging. But one of the most rewarding aspects is the opportunity we have to invite you to invest the resources God has given you in a very strategic initiative for the sake of his Kingdom. 

While our long term goal is to see Québec transformed by the gospel, we know that we ourselves and all those who invest with us will be stretched and grown in our faith for our good as well. Such investments pay attractive dividends along the way in addition to the ultimate return we look for in those who will respond to the gospel as a result of our labor.

Just as it was for Peter and Andrew (Matt. 4), when Christ calls us to follow him it is for the sake of joining him in his pursuit of people for his Kingdom. For our family this pursuit is taking us to Montréal. But in order for us to engage the mission God has put before us we need many partners. 

Will you trust God to provide for you in such a way that you can invest with us financially over the next several years so that together we can train a generation of church planters and leaders for Québec?

It is our great privilege to partner with you in this ministry of the gospel!

Investing as a way of life

Investing financially in advancing the gospel in Québec and around the world is only one aspect of good stewardship. God’s desire is for each of us to be investing all that he has given us, not just our money, for the benefit of his kingdom and for his glory. 

Here is a simple exercise you can use to start thinking more intentionally about your day to day stewardship of God’s resources:

1. Take out a piece of paper and make two columns. 

2. In the first column, list out all that God has given you. Think creatively and be specific. It may take more paper but you get the idea.

3. In the second column, list how you have used or plan to use each particular gift to produce fruit for God’s kingdom.

4. If you find that the second column is not what you’d like it to be, don’t worry. Simply ask God to forgive you and help you to become a wise investor. 

We can rejoice that we serve an amazingly gracious and generous God!

A Church of Missional Communities

What are Missional Communities?

Missional communities are the way the church expresses itself, groups of people who join together around a shared vision to expose those in their collective sphere of influence to the good news of Jesus Christ in every aspect of life. 

Why Missional Communities? 

Missional communities provide a natural structure through which we live out our faith before a watching world and into which we can easily invite others to experience the life of following Jesus with us. 

Rather than expecting our friends to “go to church” to find out what we’re all about, missional communities take church to them. As we work, play, and simply live intentionally in community together, people can see what it means to follow Jesus in the rhythms of day to day life. This is after all what we are calling people to - a relationship with the living God which permeates all of life. 

How do Missional Communities work? 

Remember that mission drives structure and not the other way around. One of the greatest advantages of missional communities is the flexibility they offer to work within any context at all. 

Basic ingredients include:

• a common mission
• disciple making leaders
• intentional gospel-centered living
• overlapping spheres of influence 

What do Missional Communities do?

People in missional communities do what people everywhere do, but they do it with gospel driven intentionality, which means they do it together and they do it to serve those around them. 

Here are some ideas:

• share a meal, host a BBQ, etc.
• open up your home, share your stuff
• work together on projects and everyday chores
• carpool or simply run errands together

Learn more about Missional Communities

There are many resources available at www.wearesoma.com through which you can learn about living missionally. I would also recommend reading Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis.

June 2014 Newsletter

So many cool things are happening and so quickly. Michael is finished with the French and Arabic classes he was taking at the University of Scranton this spring and is now able to travel more and help Shari prepare for moving and selling the house. There are lots of things to be praying about as well as opportunities to grow in faith. See more in our June newsletter:

June 2014 Newsletter

Please let me know which format is better for you to view the newsletter, the picture file or the link to the pdf in Google Drive. We will continue to improve and add to the website over time. Thanks!

April 2014 Newsletter

Over the last few months we have balanced classes, support raising, the typically busy routine at home and some pretty significant health issues for Joshua. Oh yeah, and Michael got to go to some cool training in Montréal. Check out the details in our most recent newsletter:

April 2014 Newsletter

January 2014 Newsletter

Our first newsletter provides a family update from 2013 and also outlines our upcoming ministry in Montréal. If you haven't seen it yet, or haven't heard from us in a while, take a minute and check it out...

January 2014 Newsletter